Angel of Mercy
by Konzert
Summary: What happens when you find a half dead stranger by the side of the road? Oneshot KK


Angel of Mercy

By Konzert

It was quiet. The only sound came from a nearby busy road. Everything else was still, almost as though the land was holding it's breath in anticipation of something. Waiting for something to occur. It was also hot. A small breeze dared to rustle the tops of the trees and make the grass wave gently, but it did nothing to cool the stifling heat of the air. 

A quiet coughing broke the silence. The choking and sputtering of one having difficulty breathing. It almost faded to nothing before coming back harsher and more wracking than before. A hand reached slowly upward before falling weakly back into the grass. Scarlet hair was strewn out underneath its owner's head and violet eyes looked briefly up at the bright blue sky overhead before closing again. 

Footsteps. He wished he had the effort, but there was no way that his body was going to allow him to get up. It was shutting down slowly on him. At this rate there was no way he would live, even if he did eventually get help. The steps had faded, whether the person had continued past, or his hearing was going, he truthfully didn't know at this point.

Then a cooling hand was laid across his brow, a soothing presence on the flaming skin there. Two fingers were checking for a pulse on his neck, but he was barely conscious, so he did not hear the frantic voice attempting to get his attention. His eyes opened the slightest bit and took in a pair of sapphire eyes before shutting again. He didn't see the dark blue eyes tearing up, the fingers scrambling for the bag that lay in the grass. He faded away into a dark abyss feeling safe and content in the face of death.

123

'Oh my God! No, no. He can't die. I won't let him die.' These thoughts were repeating themselves over and over again in Kaoru's mind. 'He can't die. I can't let him die. I won't let him die.' She yanked open her bag and dumped everything out onto the ground. She snatched up her cell phone and dialed three numbers she never thought she would need to use. 911.

When a voice answered, she scrambled to get all the information out. The women on the other line was kind, telling her to keep calm and telling her that someone was on the way. She gave her instructions to keep trying to wake the man up and what to do if he stopped breathing. Kaoru processed everything with one part of her brain. The part that was viewing the situation with a clinical detachment she hadn't thought herself capable of. The other side was staring at the body, allowing tears to fall freely from her eyes and spill down her cheeks at the sight of person in such pain.

After waiting for what seemed like hours next to the body in the grass, she could hear sirens in the distance, getting closer. She was constantly checking the man's pulse and at one point she nearly panicked when she couldn't feel it, but found it's faint beat again after a few frantic seconds. She had no idea where the blood was coming from, only that it didn't seem like there was much left. She had no idea what she would do if he died right in front of her.

An ambulance arrived finally and trained professionals took over. Kaoru was relieved and she felt almost drained of her energy as she watched them load him into the ambulance. One of the police officers was asking her questions and she answered mechanically and finally found enough sense to ask what hospital the man was being taken to. He told her and then asked if she was going to need a ride home. She shook her head vaguely and when he looked concerned, she put on her brightest smile and told him she would fine. He nodded and advised her to get rid of her clothes when she got home.

Kaoru looked down at her jeans. There was blood on them and also on the hem of her shirt. She started to walk the short distance to her home. When she walked in the door, her mother was there in an instant demanding to know what had held her up. Kaoru sat down heavily on the couch and again she had that same drained of all her energy feeling. She told her mother everything that had happened. She explained how she had seen the man just lying on the side of the road, bleeding. 

"How could nobody have stopped to help him?" That was the one thing that Kaoru could not get over. "People must have seen him. His shirt was so red, how could they not have seen him? Helped him?" The tears started down her cheeks then and sobs shook her body as her mother wrapped her arms around her and made soothing noises. 

"Honey, I can't explain the actions of others, but today you did something amazing. From what it sounds like, you probably saved that man's life." She gave Kaoru a squeeze and helped her wipe her face dry. "Now I think you need to have some dinner and then go to sleep. You look tired." Kaoru nodded.

"I want to go see him. I want to find out if he's okay or not." Kaoru told her mother.

"I'll drive you there myself tomorrow." He mother promised. "It would probably be hopeless to try now. He probably has to undergo some kind of surgery and they probably won't admit anyone but family members to see him." Kaoru nodded again.

123

A steady beeping filled his ears. An expanse of white blankness filled his eyes. A pain seemed to burn through his whole body, but he couldn't do anything. He felt so sluggish as well as uncomfortable. He was lying on his back, arms at his sides above a blanket that covered him up to mid-chest. He painstakingly turned his head to the side, hoping to discover something to identify where he was. Machines, an uncomfortable looking chair in a puky colored green. A window with a curtain partially blocking the slate gray of the skies outside. 

For a moment he was confused. Why was he in the hospital? Then everything came seeping back into his mind slowly. Him crossing the street. It was a nice neighborhood, all big front lawns, houses set far back from the roads, busy though because of the lively town that was found a few corners away. Since it was in a busier area, he should have paid more attention, but when your mind is on something, does anybody really? Stepping off the curb and then the impact a few seconds later. He was hit so hard that he could barely remember anything else but the instant pain. He thought he remembered being hit somewhere in the hip area on his left side, so it must have been a bigger car, he was short, but he wasn't that short. 

He couldn't recall much else so he assumed that he must have blacked out from the pain. He did remember waking for a few moments and looking up at the sky, so different from today's bleak one. Realizing that he was dying hadn't come as much of a shock, he had accepted it. So why was he still here? He plied his mind until he came up with something. A cool hand on his forehead, warm fingers and a pair of brilliant blue eyes. Someone had found him and helped him, he guessed, had saved his life.

He pushed all of his weariness to one side, focusing on the important details. His name was Kenshin Himura, twenty years old, college student living with his adoptive father Hiko, who thought that he was a hopeless day dreamer. There, that was fine, no damage to his memory. 

Footsteps were sounding in the hallway outside. It was the purposeful click of someone, a nurse he guessed. He could hear them through the door that hung slightly ajar. He lay waiting to see if the person would enter his room, but they passed by. 

He looked back up at the ceiling. Cracks were running through it, but he doubted that anyone but the patients ever looked up. There wasn't much else to be found in the room. He listened, but the one thing about this hospital was that there was almost no noise except for the beeping and occasional clicking. He had yet to hear any voices at all. Well, as long as it was going to continue to be this quiet, he might as well sleep a little more. He had been short on sleep, trying to balance the many things in his life, he could use it. He closed his eyes and within minutes he had drifted off, the pain numbing. 

What felt like only a few dreamless moments later he was woken by hushed voices. He looked up at the ceiling, but there were no familiar cracks there. In fact, he realized, he was in a completely different room. The voices were coming from behind the curtain that blocked off half of the room. Apparently he was going to be sharing a room with someone. Then footsteps came towards his curtain. 

"Good afternoon Mr. Himura." Said a friendly looking doctor. He smiled weakly and she continued. "It's nice to see that you've finally woken up. You've been asleep for the past four days." 'Except for the last time I woke up.' He thought to himself, but of course he had no idea when that had been. "We contacted your father, since we couldn't find any other relations, but he was out of the country and we were only able to leave a message. Now that you're awake, we can confirm that you are out of critical condition. You've sustained quite a few injuries and a head injury, which was what had us the most concerned. You have two broken ribs and a fractured thigh bone, as well as a broken arm. You had quite a few lacerations which caused you to lose a large amount of blood so you may feel weak or dizzy for the next few days, but the blood transfusions should have helped." She looked at some of the monitors beside the bed and wrote down a few more things. "We're just going to have to conduct a few tests to make sure that everything is fine and you'll probably be released in a few more days." He nodded to show his comprehension, but made no move to speak. "Now, if and only if you feel up to it, you have a visitor. A girl has been asking about you for the past four days, but since she wasn't a family relation and you were asleep she wasn't allowed to see you." He looked up, his interest finally sparked.

"Did she say what her name was?" He asked, his voice slightly hoarse. 

"I think it was K something, Kamiya. Kaoru Kamiya, I believe." She said, looking at him for a reaction. He frowned. He didn't know that name at all. "Do you feel up to a visitor?" She asked.

"I feel okay." He told her. "I will be fine with a visitor." She nodded.

"Okay, then she should be in in a few minutes." She walked around the partition and he heard a door click shut.

He sat in the bed. Who was this girl? Why did she come to see him? He was intrigued and was curious to find out who she was. Finally, he heard the door open and a hesitant 'excuse me.' then footsteps came around the partition. He looked up and was met with the most amazing eyes he had ever seen. They were a very familiar pair of azure eyes and he knew he was not mistaken.

"Thank you." He said. The girl looked surprised at the words, but then she smiled and her whole face lit up.

"Your welcome. I'm Kaoru Kamiya." She said, stepping closer. "I was really worried about you. I hope you're feeling alright." It hadn't taken much for her to get over the hesitance that she had displayed when she came into the room. 

"It's nice to meet you. Please sit down." He answered gesturing to the chair by his bed. "I feel fine, except for a few aches." He smiled genially. She sat down on the edge of the seat, leaning towards him. There was silence.

"I found you by the side of the road." She started quietly. "It was really horrible." He grimaced.

"Yes. I was hit by a car. Apparently they didn't stick around to find out if I was alive or dead." He answered with wry humor. He was surprised when he saw her eyes tear lightly. "I'm sorry. That was a little inappropriate." He muttered. 

"It's okay." She reassured him. "I'm just way too emotional I guess. I just don't like to see people in pain." She looked at him with her big blue eyes. He could practically feel himself melting under her gaze. There was more silence as the two searched for something, anything that would make for a decent conversation to cover the awkwardness of the situation. "They wouldn't tell me exactly how bad your condition was, but from what I can tell it looks serious." She said finally.

"Oh, it's not that bad. They said I might even be released in a few days. I think the main concern was a head injury that I had, but I'm pretty sure that everything is fine. I have a pretty thick skull, or so my father loves to tell me." He smiled somewhat lopsidedly and she let out a soft giggle. 

"Well, that's good then." She said. The awkwardness that had previously been a barrier seemed to evaporate with her laugh. They managed to have a long conversation that ended with her promising to visit him tomorrow, if he was up to it, so that he wouldn't be bored.

He was smiling for a long time after she left. She just had that kind of personality. He was looking forward to her visit tomorrow and hopefully being able to get to know her better. 

123

Kaoru was smiling herself. Tomorrow was going to be a wonderful day.

123

Hey everyone. I hope that you enjoyed my second attempt at a oneshot. I couldn't really think of a good title, and I don't know if it's exactly appropriate for the story, but it's going to have to do for now. Maybe I'll think of a better one eventually. Thank you for reading and review so you can let me know how I did! 


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